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Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Press Release: HH Pope Tawadros II received by Her Majesty The Queen, His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, during his first pastoral visit to the United Kingdom

Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and Communications Office

Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)

Media and Communications Office

HH Pope Tawadros II
received by Her Majesty The Queen, His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, and His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, during his first pastoral visit to the
United Kingdom

Left to Right: Her Majesty The Queen, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, His Grace Bishop Angaelos

17 May 2017

On his
first pastoral visit, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, 118th Pope of
Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, has been visiting Coptic
Orthodox parishes and meeting with communities across the United Kingdom. Pope
Tawadros has also consecrated churches, presided over Liturgies and Vespers
services, and addressed hundreds of young people at a Coptic youth gathering.

During
his visit, Pope Tawadros II was received by Her Majesty The Queen at Windsor
Castle on 9 May. This historic audience with Her Majesty was also attended by
His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the
United Kingdom, and the Rt Rev David Conner, Dean of Windsor. During the
meeting HH Pope Tawadros II presented Her Majesty with a Coptic icon depicting
the ‘Flight to Egypt’ of the Holy Family.

After
the audience, Bishop Angaelos said:

“This
meeting between Her Majesty and His Holiness is an embodiment of our Coptic
Orthodox Church here in Britain, made up of those, many of whom will have roots
in Egypt, who still feel connected to Egypt, but are very integrated as British
Copts. I am personally thankful for this meeting that reinforces this composite
and naturally organic identity at the highest level of our Church and nations.”

Photo credit: Coptic Church UK

Shortly
after meeting with Her Majesty The Queen, Pope Tawadros was received by His
Excellency Mr Nasser Kamel, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the
United Kingdom, at a dinner and reception at the Egyptian Embassy in London. The
reception was attended by Coptic clergy and laity, as well as the wider British
Egyptian community.

Photo credit: Coptic Church UK

In the
days following, Pope Tawadros was the Guest of Honour at a lunch in the Palace
of Westminster, hosted by The Rt Revd the Lord Bishop of Coventry, Dr
Christopher Cocksworth, who spoke in his address about the witness of
Christians in the Middle East, saying:

“…we
feel deeply united with you and your people in sufferings that you experience,
and we pray for you very much. I know that connection extends beyond those who
would call themselves Christians, to a solidarity of humanity with you and your
people and a huge respect for, to quote another virtue from the Bible, the ‘patient
endurance’ that you always express when these difficulties occur and your words
of peace.”

The
lunch was attended by members of the House of Lords, ecumenical guests and
members of the Coptic Orthodox clergy and community in the United Kingdom.
Following the lunch, Pope Tawadros laid a wreath at the Recording Angel
memorial in Westminster Hall, in honour of PC Keith Palmer, who lost his life
in the Westminster attack on 22 March 2017.

Photo credit: Coptic Church UK

During
his stay Pope Tawadros received individuals and groups at The Coptic Orthodox
Church Centre in Hertfordshire, including the Coptic Medical Board and the Coptic
Partnership for Relief and Development, both established by Bishop Angaelos with
members of the Coptic community to ensure the highest level of collaboration
for those most in need in Egypt. Among his meetings, His Holiness also received
His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.

Photo credit: Lambeth Palace

On
Friday 12 May, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II was received by The Most Revd
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, at a historic meeting in Lambeth
Palace. During the visit, Pope Tawadros met privately with the Archbishop, later
joining the rest of the Coptic delegation and ecumenical guests, when addresses
were delivered. His Holiness signed the official guestbook with the words ‘Love
Never Ends’, and presented a Coptic icon of the ‘Flight to Egypt’ of the Holy
Family to Archbishop Justin.

During
his address, Pope Tawadros II thanked the Archbishop for his hospitality and said:

“We
are grateful to God for the co-operation, dialogue, and Christian love between
our two Churches. We are hopeful and pray for more and more Christian unity
globally and we believe it is possible through the love of God, and through the
ecumenical blood of all Christian martyrs.”

In his
address to His Holiness, His Grace the Archbishop commented on the resilient
example of Coptic Christians in Egypt, saying:

“The
experience of the Coptic people in Egypt is not only an example to the Body of
Christ around the world, but also a profound inspiration. The courage of your
people – their constant faith, their steadfastness, their long endurance –
brings to life those words we read so often in the epistles of Saint Paul, and
we are truly grateful and give thanks to God for you and for your people.”

Picture(s)
by : Westminster Abbey/Picture Partnership.

Following the meeting at
Lambeth Palace, the two Church leaders and their delegations, attended Evensong
at Westminster Abbey at the invitation of the Dean of Westminster Rev Dr John
Hall, walking side by side during the procession, and praying together at the
shrine of St Edward the Confessor.

Evensong was followed by a
general meeting led by His Holiness the Pope, with members of the Coptic
community, in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. The Pope gave a sermon
and presented gifts to members of the community. Before the meeting, Pope
Tawadros was officially welcomed by the Dean of Westminster who spoke of his
solidarity with the plight of Christians in the Middle East and in Egypt, and
spoke of unity, saying:

“The
cause of unity between Christians is something which is dear to us and
immensely precious. It is wonderful that in this 21st Century,
relations between all the Churches, develop so strongly and warmly together,
and Your role, Your Holiness, in convening leaders of the Churches including
Pope Francis and others has been an example to all of us.”

Photo by Mark Kessler

Photo by Mr Sami Gabriel

On 17 May, His Holiness the
Pope, accompanied by Bishop Angaelos, was received by His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales at Clarence House. In December 2013, His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales was received by Bishop Angaelos at The Coptic Centre in
Stevenage for the first time, as part of a series of visits in which he sought
to highlight the plight of Christians in the Middle East. His Royal
Highness continues to be supportive in response to the suffering of Christian
and minority groups in the region.

At the
commencement of the visit, an official vespers service was held in his honour
at the Coptic Cathedral of Saint George in Hertfordshire. The event was held on
6 May 2017, and attended by members of the House of Lords, the Diplomatic
Corps, the Foreign Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, humanitarian and
advocacy organisations, and various ecumenical and inter-religious guests.

Commenting on the visit as a
whole, His Grace Bishop Angaelos said:

“It
has been a blessing for the Coptic community here in the United Kingdom to
engage with their shepherd. It was also an opportunity for His Holiness to meet
his flock and to encounter some of the work being done under the various
ministries within the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom.

I am
thankful that the visit was fruitful and gave His Holiness an overview of the
diverse and dynamic role of Coptic Christians across Britain who endeavour to
live faithfully according to their Christian principles, while being fully
integrated into their surrounding community. I am also pleased that we had the
opportunity to learn from the example of peaceful yet powerful resilience that His
Holiness and our brothers and sisters in Egypt demonstrate on a daily basis.”

Photo by Michael Hani

More photographs available via www.Flickr.com/CopticMedia (Many more photographs and videos will become available over the coming weeks)